Valerie Bertinelli celebrates two years of ‘freedom’ since Tom Vitale divorce: ‘It does get better’

Valerie Bertinelli is grateful her marriage to Tom Vitale is in the past.

The former Food Network star, 64, marked two years since finalizing her divorce from her ex-husband on Instagram Friday.

Bertinelli posted a quote that read, “I didn’t know how I was going to get through it, but I knew that somehow I would.”

“And I did!” she began her caption. “Today marks two years of freedom. Two years of walking through self doubt and doing my best to get to the other side. Two years of knowing that I didn’t deserve to tolerate the intolerable.”

“Two years of working through shame and self loathing. (Still working on that part

long tail that

) Two years of working to find my true self,” she added.

Bertinelli also mentioned her recent ex, Mike Goodnough, for helping her with “feeling love again.”

“Two years of confronting past demons and traumas and doing my best to work through them,” she continued. “I want to be the best, most authentic version of myself heading into this last chapter of my life. I am learning that until I love myself and accept myself, all of me, my dark and light sides, I can never give someone else the love and emotional vulnerability that they need and deserve.”

“You must give it to yourself first so that you can share it,” Bertinelli said. “Whoo boy. I’m workin on it

.”

The “One Day at a Time” actress noted that she’s “grateful” for her family, friends and fans who have supported her as she was going through hard times.

“Most importantly, I want you to know that if you’re struggling right now, I’ve been there and some days I can still be there but I want you to know it does get better,” Bertinelli shared. “I promise you. It gets better. Some days will still be hard and challenging, but on other days, the light will shine brighter and you will feel it. I love you.”

Bertinelli got married to Vitale, a financial planner, in 2011 after seven years of dating.

In November 2021, Bertinelli filed for legal separation from Vitale. They finalized their divorce on November 22, 2022.

Bertinelli told People earlier this year that she and Vitale “became very unkind to one another” at the end of their marriage.

“That was just the breaking point for me, where I finally decided I’ve had enough. I was continuing to tolerate intolerable things, starting with my own words in my own head,” she said in the interview.

After divorcing Vitale, Bertinelli had a long-distance relationship with Goodnough that lasted ten months. Their breakup was confirmed earlier this month.

Bertinelli previously said her relationship with Goodnough was “challenging” because they lived across the country from each other.

The TV personality was previously married to Eddie Van Halen. She welcomed a son, Wolfgang, with the late musician.